Pizza Express: Live Summer Sessions At Mermaid Quay

Pizza Express has its roots firmly in music and its Summer Sessions are an extension of that passion and demonstrates a commitment to British live music. Yes, we're clapping.

Cardiff Bay Culture Food & Drink Live Music Mermaid Quay Music

Editor , 13th August 2023 / 849

Live Summer Sessions is a continuation of PizzaExpress’ longstanding heritage with live music and British singer-songwriter Grace Carter, whose breakthrough moment was placing third on the BBC’s Sound of 2019 list, performed at the Mermaid Quay restaurant on Friday. We headed over on Saturday and were treated to three excellent artistes.

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Of course it would have been rude not to partake in our usual calamari starters and classic American (pepperoni) pizzas, but the live music added an extra dimension which made an already excellent restaurant even better.

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It was great to see the Bay buzzing with people (it was a rare sunny evening inAugust) and as we listened to the music I couldn’t help thinking this is Cardiff at its best. We’ve lost a lot of our live venues over the decades and to see the genuine enjoyment as people passed by, it really did fill us with joy.

Jenniufer Hobbs-Roberts and Lily Beau
Highlight of the evening, other than the pizzas, was Lily Beau. A good friend Francis Brown who ran New Sound Wales had been singing her praises for the last few years so it was a real privilege to finally see her perform. What a great talent. She’s bilingual so the Welsh, self-penned songs really resonated with us and the audience/diners. She had a lovely Adele/Joan Armatrading thing going on.

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The musicians were brilliant, the food was fab (as it always is) and the Bay was a beautiful backdrop. What a great evening. We doff our beanies to Pizza Express. What a brilliant concept – one I hope they will continue to develop.

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The occasion was made all the more special when our waitress Anh was presented with a birthday cake. She was lovely and looked after us extremely well. Congratulations to her on her special day. I believe she had been with the company thirty years. They’re very lucky – she’s a diamond.

Did you know?
PizzaExpress Live locations present more than 1,500 shows each year, but Live Summer Sessions takes this passion for live music across the UK as summer evenings provide the perfect backdrop for music and dining. The series will see all performers taking part raising money for the brand’s national charity partner, music therapy charity, Nordoff and Robbins.